Russian mercenaries and Mali army accused of killing 300 civilians

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Russian mercenaries and Mali army accused of killing 300 civilians

Human Rights Watch says deaths during anti-jihadist operation in Moura ‘the worst atrocity in Mali in a decade’

Emmanuel Akinwotu in Lagos
Tue 5 Apr 2022 13.38 BST
Last modified on Tue 5 Apr 2022 19.17 BST

Suspected Russian mercenaries participated in an operation with Mali’s army in March in which about 300 civilian men were allegedly executed over five days, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.

Eyewitnesses and local community leaders said hundreds of men were rounded up and killed in small groups during the anti-jihadist operation on 23 March in the central town of Moura. The rural town of about 10,000 inhabitants is in the Mopti region, a hotspot of jihadist activity that has intensified and spread to neighbouring countries in the Sahel region.

Local security sources told HRW that more than 100 Russian-speaking men were allegedly involved in the operation, which HRW described as the worst single atrocity reported in Mali’s decade-long armed conflict. Witnesses spoke of white soldiers talking in an unfamiliar foreign language they believed to be Russian.

Mali’s army has long been accused of rights abuses during counter-insurgency operations. A Mali military spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment on the HRW report.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/05/russian-mercenaries-and-mali-army-accused-of-killing-300-civilians

[TheRealNorth]

1. Because committing war crimes in one country isn't enough....

[TreasonousBastard]

2. When I read about this yrsterday, my first thought was...

Mali's been a hotspot for years, but no one paid much attention until Russians were involved. Go around the world and see where else this is true.

The US, of course, is no innocent either. Plenty of complaints about us and the CIA causing trouble around the world. We just weren't as obvious about it. Once in while we did a good thing, too.

[abqtommy]

3. Y'know, All of the Jihadists anywhere are Fascists. The Russian mercenaries are

Fascists so the Russians are killing their own. I'm not surprised.